Botulinum Toxin Type B News

MONDAY, April 18, 2016 – Botox is a safe and effective treatment for chronic migraine and three other neurological disorders, an updated guideline from the American Academy of Neurology says. Long used to smooth wrinkles, botulinum toxin is made by a type of bacteria. The toxin blocks the release of substances at nerve endings, reducing muscle contraction and the transmission of pain signals, the researchers explained. The authors of the updated guideline reviewed scientific studies on the four preparations of botulinum toxin available in the United States. They concluded that the treatment is generally safe and effective for four neurological conditions: chronic migraine, spasticity in adults, cervical dystonia and blepharospasm. Chronic migraine is defined as having migraines 15 or more days a month, the study authors explained. Spasticity in adults is muscle tightness that ... Read more

MONDAY, April 18, 2016 – Hoping to look more kissable perhaps, Americans underwent a record number of lip procedures last year. "We live in the age of the selfie, and because we see images of ourselves almost constantly on social media, we're much more aware of how our lips look," Dr. David Song, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in a society news release. There were more than 27,400 lip implants performed in 2015 – a 48 percent increase since 2000. That averages out to one lip implant every 19 minutes, the society said, noting the procedure became more popular among both men and women. Lip injections, which include Botox and various soft-tissue fillers, also rose steeply last year, reaching nearly 9.2 million. That's an increase of more than 1,000 percent since the year 2000, the plastic surgeons said. Lip procedures have been the second-fastest-growing ... Read more

FRIDAY, July 17, 2015 – Facial wrinkles – such as so-called "laugh lines" or "crow's feet" – are the bane of many aging adults. Now, new research on cadavers may offer some insight into why some skin creases are more pronounced than others. Differences in oil-secreting glands just below the skin may help explain why forehead wrinkles are shallower than wrinkles around the outer eye, according to a research team led by Yuichi Tamatsu, of Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences in Japan. Sebaceous glands are "microscopic glands that secrete sebum, an oily or waxy material, which lubricates the skin and protects it from water damage," said Dr. Nitin Chauhan, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and otolaryngologist at the University of Toronto. Chauhan, who was not part of the new research, said that based on the study findings, it appears that ... Read more

MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2014 – A child receives the wrong medication or the wrong dosage every eight minutes in the United States, according to a recent study. Nearly 700,000 children under 6 years old experienced an out-of-hospital medication error between 2002 and 2012. Out of those episodes, one out of four children was under a year old. As the age of children decreased, the likelihood of an error increased, the study found. Though 94 percent of the mistakes didn't require medical treatment, the errors led to 25 deaths and about 1,900 critical care admissions, according to the study. "Even the most conscientious parents make errors," said lead author Dr. Huiyun Xiang, director of the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. That conscientiousness may even lead to one of the most common errors: Just over a quarter of these mistakes involved a ... Read more

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Despite ongoing prevention efforts, a growing number of young children are being accidentally poisoned with medications, according to new research. The study, which was based on data reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers between 2001 and 2008, found that medication poisoning among children aged 5 and under increased by 22 percent, although the number of children in the United States in this age group rose by only 8 percent during the study period. "The problem of pediatric poisoning in the U.S. is getting worse, not better," Dr. Randall Bond, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in a hospital news release. In conducting the study, which is scheduled for publication in the Journal of Pediatrics, the researchers reviewed information on over 544,000 children who landed in the emergency department due to medication poisoning ... Read more